OUR OPINION: When it comes to marine mammals, be sensible

Michael Hodgdon is learning the hard way that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

The Patriot Ledger, Quincy, MA

Writer

Posted Jul. 27, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jul 27, 2013 at 9:20 PM

Posted Jul. 27, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jul 27, 2013 at 9:20 PM

QUINCY

» Social News

Michael Hodgdon is learning the hard way that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

On Sunday, the North Weymouth resident said he was diving off of Brant Rock beach in Marshfield when people on the beach alerted him to a seal pup in distress. A certified diver, Hodgdon said he was taught to avoid marine mammals, but that the pup appeared to be injured with what he believed were shark bites. So he brought the pup to shore on his dive raft and called the New England Aquarium.

An aquarium volunteer with 15 years and thousands of hours of seal rehabilitation experience responded, said Aquarium spokesperson Tony LaCasse. She assessed the pup and determined it was healthy and suffering from pockmarks consistent with a disease common to seals and not a shark attack.

Marshfield’s Animal control office concurred that the pup was demonstrating normal healthy behavior.

But at some point communication broke down between Hodgdon and the Aquarium volunteer, and it resulted in a warning by the volunteer that Hodgdon was in violation of federal law, specifically the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which forbids contact with marine mammals.

The law was created in 1972 to protect marine mammals from wanton abuse by humans, but also from our ignorance of them. Marine mammals have their own set of idiosyncratic behaviors that the average person knows little of and good deeds can end up punishing them.

Though it’s unlikely Hodgdon will be fined, not even the New Hampshire man caught on YouTube nudging the seal pup back into the water with his foot, was fined. Nor the woman who, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officials, later picked up that same pup, separating it from its mother, and transported it to a rehab facility.

All of the people involved had the best of intentions. Everyone cared about the seals and wanted to do what was best for them. But a good heart and good intentions don’t always result in what’s best for the species.

According to Marshfield Animal Control Officer Deni Goldman, she receives about two calls each week from people concerned about seal strandings. In nearly every instance, the seals, semi-aquatic mammals, are simply resting on shore. It’s normal behavior for them.

In the case of the seal pup in Marshfield, nearly anyone confronted with what appeared to be an injured seal pup would have done what Hodgdon did. Seal pups are adorable and their faces are reminiscent of America’s favorite dog, the Labrador retriever. He did the right thing when he notified the Aquarium and he was right to stay with it until an expert arrived.

The Aquarium volunteer was correct too. Her primary responsibility is to ensure the health and well being of the species. It was her expert opinion the seal was behaving in a normal manner.

Page 2 of 2 - But even if it wasn’t, if it was diseased or not strong enough to survive on its own, it’s important to acknowledge nature has it’s own laws of natural selection. People should ultimately defer to the experts when it comes to marine mammals – and to nature.